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Practical user information

Radio communications

This section outlines the available radio communications in the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Area, and provides details about channels and radio operators working here.

Radio communication in Fiordland was once somewhat haphazard but has recently improved. In the 1970s, the Fiordland Big Game Fishing Club saw it as essential for their small boats to travel in convoy and use Citizen Band (CB) radios to keep in contact. Boats without CB sets were paired with boats that did carry them.

Recent improvements in VHF (Very High Frequency) facilities have brought ready radio communication into Fiordland and compared with early years, assistance is closer at hand in the event of an emergency. However, there are still times during bad weather where helicopters are unable to get in to the fiords, because of strong winds or low cloud cover. Due to the geographical nature of Fiordland, VHF reception can also be fickle in many areas. It is therefore recommended that VHF radios be fitted with a good quality aerial. Doing so will allow users to transmit from many anchorages via repeaters throughout Fiordland. Vessels with poor aerials will be unable to ‘trigger’ many of these repeaters, limiting their communications. It is therefore recommended to have either a single side band (SSB) radio or a satellite phone in addition to a VHF radio. It is also important to note that there is no cell phone coverage in any part of coastal Fiordland.

General ship-to-ship communication in Fiordland

Commercial vessels (and small aircraft) in the southern Fiordland - Foveaux Strait - Stewart Island/Rakiura area generally monitor VHF channel 10, which is used as a working channel for ship-to-ship communications. These channels are only monitored by other vessels in range and are not monitored by any land-based stations.

The Fiordland coastline can be divided into three distinct regions for the purposes of VHF ‘ship-to-ship’ working frequencies.

The most commonly used working channels for the Fiordland area are:

Ch 67	Big Bay to Bligh Sound
Ch 74	Bligh Sound to Nancy Sound
Ch 10	Nancy Sound to Bluff

Fiordland VHF radio repeaters

Channel 62 – Located at Milford Sound/ Piopiotahi. Coverage extends from Big Bay in the north to George Sound in the south and up into Deepwater Basin in Milford Sound/ Piopiotahi.

Channel 64 – Located at Rugged Mountain on the south side of Poison Bay. This is a coastal repeater only (not monitored) and has coverage from offshore Big Bay in the north to off shore Caswell Sound in the south.

Channel 66 – This high altitude repeater is located at 1855 m on Mt Irene at the head of Charles Sound. The repeater is the most widely used in Fiordland and has the best inner fiord coverage from Doubtful Sound/Patea to Bligh Sound. Coastal coverage is available off shore from West Cape to offshore Big Bay; however, the best coverage is from Doubtful Sound/Patea to Poison Bay.

Channel 01 – A repeater has been installed at Wednesday Peak to improve the coverage in the Puysegur area. This provides good coverage throughout Chalky and Preservation Inlets. Coverage is also obtainable at the outer reaches of Breaksea Sound, the Acheron Passage and parts of Dusky Sound.

Channel 61 – Located on Bluff Hill. Coastal coverage extends from Bluff to Puysegur Point. Within the outer reaches of Chalky and Preservation Inlets coverage is patchy.

Channel 65 – Located on Stewart Island/ Rakiura. Coastal coverage extends around the south coast from about 3 nautical miles north of Cape Providence to 3 nautical miles north of the Nuggets, and is patchy in Chalky and Preservation Inlets.

Channels 61 or 65 may be used for calling in the Foveaux Strait area.

Maritime New Zealand

VHF coastal coverage is provided by Maritime Radio from stations at Wednesday Peak in Preservation Inlet (Puysegur Maritime) and Mount Elder in George Sound (Fiordland Maritime) and is operated remotely from Lower Hutt. Maritime Radio routinely broadcasts the current maritime weather forecasts. Bluff Maritime Radio also provides coverage in the Foveaux Straight area.

All calls should be made on Channel 16 (monitored), moving to a specified working channel as instructed by the operator.

Fiordland Maritime Radio

Channels 16 + 71 (Mount Elder, George Sound)

Channel 71 – Coverage is good in the coastal area between Big Bay and Caswell Sound; however, south of Caswell Sound to Dagg Sound vessels will need to be more than one nautical mile off shore to obtain coverage. Inner fiord coverage is restricted to Bligh and George Sound, although patchy coverage can be received in areas from Doubtful Sound/Patea north. There are weather broadcasts on this channel at 01:33, 05:33, 07:33, 10:33, 13:33, 17:33 and 21:33.

Puysegur Maritime Radio

Channels 16 + 67 (Wednesday Peak, Preservation)

Channel 67 – Coverage offshore is good. Coverage extends over most of Preservation Inlet and a lot of Chalky, but becomes patchy in the upper reaches. Coverage is patchy in Breaksea and Dusky Sounds, but can be found mainly in north–south trending waterways where side valleys extend in the direction of Puysegur radio station. There are weather broadcasts on this channel at 01:33, 05:33, 07:33, 10:33, 13:33, 17:33 and 21:33.

Bluff Maritime Radio

Channels 16 + 68 (Foveaux Strait)

Channel 68 – Coverage is for the Foveaux Strait area and does not include parts of Fiordland.

Radio operators in the Fiordland area

Fiordland Fishermen’s Radio and Bluff Fishermen’s Radio provide SSB and VHF coverage throughout Fiordland. Fiordland Lobster Company is a contact point for berthage in Deepwater Basin, Milford Sound/ Piopiotahi, while Stewart Island Fisherman’s Radio provides coverage throughout Foveaux Strait (as well as Stewart Island/Rakiura).

Milford Sound/Piopiotahi: Fiordland Lobster Company

Based in Deepwater Basin
Phone: (03) 249 8093
Operator: Allan Cosgrove
Visitor berths and diesel fuel available

VHF Channel / SSB kHz	Monitored hours NZLT	Weather broadcasts
62 St Anne Point	Open during working hours
67	Open during working hours

Fiordland Fishermen’s Radio

Based in Te Anau
Phone: (03) 249 7402
Repeater: Mt Irene Ch 66
Operator: Carol Brown

VHF Channel / SSB kHz	Monitored hours NZLT	Weather broadcasts
66 Mt Irene	Open 24 hours. Skeds at 08:00–08:30 + 19:00–19:30	08:00 + 19:00 (local weather)
2444 Vessel receives	Open 24 hours. Skeds at 08:00–08:30 + 19:00–19:30	08:00 + 19:00 (local weather)
2480 Vessel transmits	Open 24 hours. Skeds at 08:00–08:30 + 19:00–19:30	08:00 + 19:00 (local weather)
4417	19:30 Listens

Bluff Fishermen’s Radio

Based in Bluff
Phone/Fax: (03) 212 7281 / (03) 212 7369
Repeaters: Bluff Hill Ch 61 and Mt Prospect Ch 63 (linked) Wednesday Peak Ch 01 Mt Rakeahua Ch 65
Operator: Meri Leask, "Good as Gold"

VHF Channel / SSB kHz	Monitored hours NZLT	Weather broadcasts
16	Open 24 hours
61 Bluff (linked to 63 Mt Prospect)	Open 24 hours	07:05 + 17:30 (& on request)
65 Mt Rakeahua	Open 24 hours	07:10 (& on request)
66 Mt Irene	Open 24 hours
01 Wednesday Peak	Open 24 hours	07:30 + 17:35 (& on request)
4417	Opens at 07:15	07:15 + 20:30 (& on request)

Stewart Island Fishermen’s Radio

Based in Halfmoon Bay
Phone: (03) 219 1242
Repeaters: Mt Rakeahua Ch 65, Bluff Hill Ch 61 and Mt Prospect 63 (linked)
Call: ZLRZ Halfmoon Bay
Operator: Maureen Jones

VHF Channel / SSB kHz	Monitored hours NZLT	Weather broadcasts
16	Open 24 hours
65 Mt Rakeahua	Open 24 hours	09:25 + 17:25
61 Bluff (linked to 63 Mt Prospect)	Open 24 hours	09:28
4417	Open 24 hours	09:31 + 17:28
10	Listens

Much of the above information has been taken from the New Zealand Marine Radio Handbook by John Allen. For further details on radio communications please refer to this book.

 

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